This invention relates to a wood/log processing machine for cutting a log into short pieces and for splitting the pieces, as in making firewood.
Processing logs by previous portable machines that are practical for use in the field requires a large amount of human effort and attention. Most machines that are capable of operation with a small amount of human effort and attention are too large and complicated and too expensive to be practical for field use. Attempts to simplify such machines have heretofore resulted in the necessity for a considerable amount of human effort in order to feed the logs into the machine, control a multitude of machine operations and dispose of the finished product. If there is not a sufficient number of human operators, conventional machines suitable for field use are not utilized to capacity and if more human operators are provided, the operation becomes uneconomical.
Thus, there is a need for a relatively simple and inexpensive machine having automatic cycles of operation that minimize the requirement for human operators to the extent that in most situations a single human operator is sufficient.